Why I Am Bilingual

Many people move to America knowing little to no English making it very frustrating for them. When arriving to a different country, everything is different and there are so many things people need to adapt to. For

By expanding ourselves past the comfort of the native tongue, we are able to create connections with other people. When learning another language, we may start to understand not only the language itself, but also comprehend new cultures, ways of thinking, and other people. From the very beginning of deciding to become a teacher, I knew I wanted to expand my ways of thinking so I positively benefit students of all cultures and language. I believe language learning allows people to view the world in different ways by becoming positively influenced by other cultures, people, and different ways of thinking. However, after deciding to become an ESL teacher, I truly believe that bilingual education is needed to help students develop and maintain high levels of proficiency and literacy in both their L1 and L2, while learning in the content areas. This is why I personally believe it is better for children to be raised bilingual instead of learning a second language later in life. One reason for this is that even though I was born in America, my parents wanted me to learn their language, which was Polish. Now, I am fully appreciative of the fact that my parents taught me Polish and placed me in a Saturday school where I was being taught both English and Polish. If I was taught Polish later in life, I think I would not use it to this day because I would not have made personal connections with the languages, as I was able to by being raised bilingual. There are many benefits of being raised bilingual instead of learning a second language later in life. It is important to understand that it takes on average 4-7 years to become academically fluent in a language; by raising a child bilingually, the children are able to use both languages more efficiently earlier than those students who learn a second language later in life. Since the child has been bilingual for a longer time, there are educational benefits commonly found. Bilingual children tend to have a higher concentration and are better at working through distractions while doing their schoolwork. Bilingual children also perform higher on average on tests that involve multi-tasking, creative thinking, or problem solving (Marian & Shook, 2012).

Arriving in a new country was exciting and discomforting. America is a wonderful place to live, which is full of adventure and challenges. I was attracted by the Western culture. Meanwhile, different languages also troubled me. Although I began to learn English in elementary school from ABC, my listening and oral abilities tend not to be adequate. I have to study hard to improve my English, so that I can understand what the people said.

I started watching English news, movies, read magazines, read all sort of English related book like, “English learning For Dummies” and suf internet for online English Tutor. Having a ELL teacher help me through my hard time helping me to learn English and doing good in school. After knowing how to speak and communicate in less than 2 months my life had become much easier. Now I am being able to communicate with people not that fluent as then can but try my best to speaks fluent as them and be able to make new friends. Also I am a helping hand to my parents as they do not know how to speak English. My sister help me a lot because she was older then me and was better than me in English so she help me through my study . Now slowly adapting the American style of living in some aspect of my life. English was a very challenging language and I had a very difficult time learning it, however, my hard work did pay off when by the end of first quarter my GPA was

At first, speaking English was a bit difficult because I did not feel confident using it with others. The most advanced students sometimes made fun of my English. The students who spoke my own language made more fun of me than the ones who were fluent in English. The teasing by the students made me feel embarrassed and shy to speak the English language, giving me a fear of being made fun of or looked at differently. Practicing the English language with my own siblings and playing with the neighborhood kids who already managed the language gave me more confidence to speak English. Taking Spanish courses in school was also an advantage, which helped me to get better at my native language and kept me from losing it.

Ever since I was young, and began my education, learning was one of the most exciting ideas to me. I wanted to know more about everything around me and the world that we lived in. Even the things that other people found mundane or pointless, I loved to understand; simply for the sake of knowing more. Throughout my elementary and middle school years, I was homeschooled which gave me more opportunities to go out and experience things that most kids could not. When I started high school, though, learning became something completely new for me. In my tenth grade year, I began dual enrolling at the local state college where I was immersed in the

When I began attending school my primary language was Spanish. My parents did not speak English in the home and when I went to school I knew and understood a little bit of English. I believe that having an older sibling helped me understand English. She began school a year before I did and picked up English from school and at home would speak to me in English. My parents encouraged this in our home and saw the need to begin learning basic English. My sister did not have learning disabilities growing up and from what I remember she did not have a problem learning English. Academically

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

I have always loved to learn. Expanding my knowledge brings me so much joy and it is a way

The day I stepped off the plane and landed in America, I knew that I’d have to face a great challenge. Being a first generation immigrant from Vietnam, I would have to learn English as quickly as possible. Although I’ve arduously prepared for this transition by learning basic vocabulary and grammar in my native country, I quickly realized that my practical aspect of using the language such as listening, conversing, pronunciation to be insufficient. By immersing myself in an English-speaking world, I finally addressed my lingual deficiency within a year.

Prompt: Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

It wasn’t easy as I have thought. At first, I had to learn to speak English like the people speak here. When I tried to explain something to them or ask for help, they couldn’t understand me as my English was poor. I started to read small story books so that I could speak fluent English. As the time passed, I was able to improve my English language. Even though I had improved a lot, I still had a huge accent that made the conversation harder, and I had to get rid of it. I did my best to improve myself so that I wouldn’t have problems later in my upcoming days. By this time, I knew where my classes were, when I should reach my classes and how to study so that I could achieve the goals that I had set for

Due to money being tight he couldn't afford to attend any more classes which would not only cost money, but time. My father found work in masonry and quickly took up the new trade. While working with the American workers, my father's English improved drastically. My father told me he didn't even realize how much he improved until he had a conversation about surfing with a coworker.

When I first arrive in America I start going to school. I learn to speak up and not always being shy and left alone. I would listen to others and go home and ask my uncle what they means. That’s how I start learning English.